Jose Mourinho has got some more thinking to do. In his 100th home game in charge of Chelsea, the Portuguese prince suffered only his second defeat to leave the Blues a worrying eight points off leaders Manchester City after just four games.
By losing to Alan Pardew's excellent Crystal Palace, Chelsea sit behind only Blackburn (1995/96) for the worst start of a Premier League season as reigning champions after four matches.
Here it looked like they'd at least snatched a point when substitute Radamel Falcao cancelled out Bakary Sako's second-half strike, only for Palace full-back Joel Ward to storm up the other end inside two minutes and consign Jose & Co. to another miserable afternoon.
After the match, Mourinho claimed he blamed himself for allowing one of his players to play the full 90 minutes... but would not reveal who. "The result should be a draw, which would still be bad for us," the Chelsea chief also stated. "My two centre-backs and keeper played a very good game. We created lots of chances but we had a couple of players who were not in the game. When the team is not consistent and there aren’t 10 players on the pitch at a certain level it’s difficult."
Match facts
- Bakary Sako has scored 5 goals and made 4 assists in his last 9 league appearances (for Wolves and Crystal Palace).
- Jose Mourinho managed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the 100th time in the Premier League, but saw his side lose for only the second time.
- It was also the Portuguese tactician’s 200th Premier League game; despite defeat, he has more points than any other manager at this stage (453).
- Radamel Falcao scored his first Premier League goal since January 31; he had gone 15 games without one before today.
- Chelsea have conceded 2+ goals in back-to-back Premier League home games for the first time since November 2011.
- The Blues have also conceded 2+ games in 4 consecutive games (all venues) for the first time since December 2006.
- Chelsea have conceded 9 goals in 4 games this term; their worst defensive record at this stage since 1971/72 (10).
- Chelsea’s 4-point total is the second lowest at this stage of a Premier League season by a reigning champion, after Blackburn’s 3 in 1995/96.
- Jose Mourinho's last 7 Premier League defeats have come against a manager with a surname starting with P.
- No team has won more points than Crystal Palace away from home in the Premier League in 2015 (25, same as Arsenal).
STATS ZONE Free on iOS • Free on Android
